But the former Real Madrid chief also ­insisted he has not given up on adding Wayne Rooney to his squad, ­although the chances of a deal being done seem to be diminishing by the day.

Chelsea will again be without David Luiz, who continues to be linked with a move to Barcelona

And Mourinho conceded Chelsea have identified other strikers if the club continues to draw a blank in their quest for the Manchester United striker.

He said: “We trust a lot in our project. But we have ­conditions to try and ­improve our team with one more ­player and we will try until the end.”

Hazard stood out in the first half against Hull – but the boss warned the 22-year-old he is nowhere near the ­finished article.

It is not yet known whether Juan Mata will make his first appearance of the season against Aston Villa

He said: “One thing is ­being a top talent, another thing is to be a top player. Football’s full of top ­talents, not many top players.

“This is what I want, ­whether I can get it I don’t know but he is working very, very hard. I’m very happy with the kid.

“I want more responsibility and more ambition.

“When you are a normal player, you have to be happy if you perform OK when you have actions during the game that show quality.

“But when you’re a top ­talent, you can’t waste that talent.

“I want to give him that responsibility and ­ambition – for the kid to be better and better and to express ­himself on the pitch, match after match.

“Not to be up and down but to always be at the top of his game because he has the ­conditions to be a top ­player.”

Chelsea will again be ­without David Luiz for the visit of Paul Lambert’s Villa.

And Mourinho will weigh up whether to rest veteran midfielder Frank Lampard after admitting that the ­35-year-old must accept he cannot play in every game.

He said: “I trust him a lot but he also knows that he’s not 25 any more.

“The crazy Lamps that wants to play every minute of a Capital One Cup match against a team from the Championship – or the ­crazy Frank that wants to break the record of ­appearances and play in every minute of every match – is not here any more.

“Now he wants to keep his performances high for as many seasons as he can.